Apple shuts down iPhone stock tracking website

If you recently picked up the iPhone 5S or have been waiting for your dream model to become available at a local retailer, you may have come across Apple-Tracker.com. The site pulled data from Apple’s online store and allowed users to perform a ZIP code-based search to determine if a specific iPhone or iPad model was in stock nearby. We say that in the past tense because Apple has hit the owner of the site with a DMCA takedown order.

Rather than fight a battle he will surely lose, the site administrator, known only as Mordy, has decided to comply with Apple’s request, shuttering the service. Apple claims that Apple-Tracker.com violates the Terms of Service for Apple’s site, illegally scraping info and repurposing it.

We’ll see if another option pops up in the way of Apple’s order, but all is not lost. Customers seeking information on availability can still query Apple’s official site, albeit in a slightly less streamlined fashion.